Secret Behind the Bassoon
by gotpep
Summary: Joshua dreamed of playing his instrument professionally, and that day was his senior recital. This was the day to determine his whole future. But something unexpected happens which throws him into a world of lies and danger. As he takes a journey into this world to find answers he experiences heartache and pain. Follow Josh in this story that centers around a boy and his bassoon.
1. Boy Behind the Bassoon

Joshua had been looking forward to this day all year. The countless rehearsals, multitude of classes, and hours spent with his passion rather than his friends. All of that led up to his final performance. Josh was a student at the Manhattan Music Institute in New York just finishing up his degree. He had left his family all the way in California to pursue his dream of one day performing at Symphony Hall in Boston. He wasn't really ready for the future. He always liked to focus on the here and now. Always afraid that if he looked too far, he wouldn't like what he saw. Today was the day to set himself into a future that was easy to look to.

This was quite the change in scenery from what his parents grew up seeing. Both of his parents were originally from Hong Kong, but moved to America shortly before he was born. They always told him that they wanted to raise a child here because of all the opportunities that he would have. This would be his greatest opportunity yet at his senior recital which would make or break his future. If he did well, he could open up a multitude of doors to a career performing in amazing venues. Today was the day. He had his cumber bun on and his bow tie straight. He made his way to the warm up area backstage and set down his massive case. He opened it up and gave a sentimental look at his instrument: a beautiful maroon colored bassoon.

That bassoon had been with him since the beginning. He received it in middle school after an unsuccessful run at the clarinet. Soon after trying it out, he had found his calling. He worked long and hard to get where he was today and this bassoon was a tribute to it. It had always been with him. Josh was about to start preparing for the show when he heard his phone ringing. He meant to leave it back at his dorm but by force of habit brought back there with him. He quickly silenced the call, knowing that everyone that mattered already understood that he wasn't supposed to take phone calls. Only a minute had passed by and the phone rang again: same number. He decided to answer and see what was so important.

"Hello?" Josh asked with heavy hints of annoyance in his voice.

"Are you Josh Lee?" An older man's voice came through the phone with a slight Chinese accent.

"Um, yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Yi Wong. I know your parents and I don't have time to explain but you have to go to Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Bring your instrument." The man sounded very urgent and forthright.

"What are you talking about? I have a performance starting in 45 minutes."

"Bring the instrument quickly, they will be after you any moment." This time the man sounded almost annoyed that Josh wasn't already there.

Joshua hung up the phone, irritated, and continued to prepare. He put together his bassoon and tried to take his mind off of the phone call and onto his final performance but couldn't shake it. How had he known his name and how did he know his parents? Why bring his bassoon? So many questions were running through his mind.

A few minutes later Josh heard a banging on the back dock door. He looked over to see two large Asian men trying to get in. When they spotted him through the small window they started to ram against the doors. Josh stood up and wondered if this is what the mysterious man on the phone was talking about. They somehow managed to break it open and come barreling into the auditorium and straight for Josh. He thought about what the man had said. He picked up his bassoon and ran for the other door. He didn't look back as the men were yelling at him. He didn't know who the man from the phone was but he knew he needed answers.


	2. Secret of the Bassoon

Josh ran fast out onto the busy streets of New York. He knocked past random people on the street with his bassoon. He didn't dare look back at the two men following him, though he could hear the sounds of people yelling after he pushed passed and then once more after the mysterious pursuers shoved through. Josh crossed past traffic without waiting for the light to change, he needed to get to the church. He nearly was hit by a taxi but kept going. Adrenaline seemed to be pushing him to move faster than he had ever ran before. It was only a few blocks away, but it felt like forever. The men behind him were starting to fall back with every turn. Joshua ran impressively well in high school track, but this was more high stakes. As he approached the large church, Josh decided to look back to see if the goons following him were still close enough to see which building he entered. No one was visible. He made his way up the steps of the landmark and entered.

Josh's family had never really been that religious. He knew other Asian Americans were Christian and in China Buddhism was another denomination. As he entered the grand building he couldn't help but notice the grandeur of the tall ceilings and religious symbols. They made it feel like this place was sacred and safe, but he knew those doors couldn't hold anything back. Focusing on the task at hand, Josh made his way to the main podium, looking around for anyone that could be the man from the phone. The building looked completely empty. Just as he was about to give up hope, he turned around to find someone not but a foot from his face. This man was of Asian descent; he was short and was just above 5 feet tall. His hairline was receding but that didn't stop him from looking menacing. Josh asked if he was the man from the phone. He introduced himself as Yi Wong once more and immediately Josh questioned him about everything that had transpired. The man simply ushered him to a back room. Once inside Josh found both of his parents. His father was leaning against a wall while his mother paced nervously. When they saw him they ran in for a hug that seemed long awaited. His parents then sat him down as they explained everything.

His father started. "I know this all must be so confusing for you, son, but I need you try to understand." His father spoke in his usual calm, but almost angry tone. He always did look threatening; probably due to his natural scowl. "Do you remember how I told you I met your mother while working in Hong Kong?" Joshua simply nodded his head waiting for the finish. "That part is true, but what wasn't true is that we weren't working for a marketing business there. Your mother and I were actually working for the Chinese government as part of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau."

Josh just stared at them. Trying to take in the sudden change to his parent's story. "So you mean you're spy cops?" He stated sarcastically in hopes of it being a joke.

His mother then took over while ignoring her son's tone. "Yes. Sort of. We were paired together for the task of taking down a secret society bent on crime. The only problem was that the gang leader we were tracking managed to get away. A few years after that, he showed up again with his crew, only this time in America. The CIA then decided to perform a joint task mission with us as the Chinese operatives. That's the real reason we came here."

"So what does this all have to do with me?" Josh said. He was taking this surprisingly well for just finding out his parents are international spies who were probably licensed to kill.

Yi stepped forward and explained his part. "Every operative keeps a log of every missions they have ever done: aliases and other info. They're kept in the last place anyone would look. The guy your parents were tracking found you and their information."

Josh suddenly looked down at his bassoon. The thing that Yi had told him to bring with him in the beginning. The instrument that he had possessed since he was in 7th grade. "You kept all of your secrets in my bassoon?" He was confused and somehow defiled. They had been storing their secrets in his instrument. Then another thought crossed his mind. "Where is this information? I've never seen it."

"The information is hidden underneath one of your keys. Inside of that key is a small microchip containing our information?" His mother said softly. She pointed to the specific key and after looking closely, Joshua noticed that the key had a top that could be screwed on and off. He couldn't understand how he missed that before. "We were able to put it in your bassoon by having an associate come by, borrow your instrument, and then exchange information on the chip. Then he would return the bassoon before you ever realized."

Josh came back to reality. "Let me get this straight: You all are spies, my bassoon holds all of your secrets, and now a crime boss is coming after me for it."

"The Believe it or not, everything we have done was to protect you." His father stated plainly. "We sent you as far away as possible from us in the hopes that we could keep you from this part of our lives."

"Wait, wait, wait. So are you telling me the only reason I got into Manhattan was because of you guys? I'm basically just someone who got in, not because of skill, but because of their parents."

"Actually, you got into USC, but we had to make you think you didn't so you would leave California." His dad must have been hoping that would make him feel better, but it didn't have the desired effects.

Yi stepped forward and brought the family back into the present. "Guys, I'm really happy we're having this family reunion but we need to move." Everyone suddenly remembered what was happening. Yi then directed himself to Joshua's parents. "You two need to take the instrument with you to DC."

Just then as his mother took the bassoon from Joshua and started to put it in a duffel bag, Joshua looked out the window of the church and saw a reflection of light off of something. Before he even knew what had happened his mother was lying on the floor, blood starting to seep from behind her stomach. His throat tightened and he felt the air begin to leave his lungs. Everyone fell to the floor instinctively, except for Josh who was pushed to the ground by Yi. Josh covered his head and looked on as his father failed to move out of the way. Joshua found himself looking at his father lying on the ground in front of him, motionless. Now there was no air left.


	3. Pain Through the Bassoon

It felt like hours had passed on that floor before Yi pulled Josh up and away from his, now dead, parents. They ran out of the church and started down the road. The whole time Josh felt like he was being dragged because he couldn't connect his brain to his body anymore. And the only thing that he could see was that sight, not the city streets all around them. They continued to run, bassoon tucked within the duffel, as they made their way somewhere safe.

It was now approaching 11 o'clock and the concert was long over by now. Yi and Joshua rested on a bed in some cheap hotel room. This was not how he envisioned his final show going. He imagined himself playing the David Concertino in front of everyone. Not running for his life while his parents lay back in some room forgotten. He tried not to think about it. He decided to ask Yi some more questions instead.

"Who is this man my parents were after?" Joshua suddenly broke the silence to ask.

Since Josh met Yi, he had always spoken with a sarcastic and playful tone. Apparently after years of witnessing death, you need some sort of coping mechanism. This time however, Yi spoke with a saddened tone. This death must have been hard on him just as it was for Josh. "The gang your parents were after is called the Triad. They had moved from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. The gang follows orders from their head honcho; a guy nicknamed "Four Fingers". He actually lost the fifth when he was up against your parents. Your mom cleaned his pinky finger right off." Yi seemed to say that last part with some real pride; lifting his spirit momentarily. This group mostly extorts wealthy businessmen and your parents were just starting to get close to him when he disappeared for a week. Then he reappeared but in New York and with the help of a local gang, managed to find where you were."

Joshua could tell those feelings about his parents were coming back in strong waves. He ran to the bathroom to puke again. Every time he thought about them, all he could picture were their dead bodies lying on the floor of the pastor's office. Then he would want to vomit and hopefully relieve himself of all that emotion. He missed them so much but knew that they weren't coming back. Now that Josh knew more about this Triad group and what they had done, he felt even sicker. There was only one way he knew of getting this feeling to go away; He had to find a way to stop Four Fingers.

The next morning Yi woke up early. Joshua was always a light sleeper so he head him wondering about. Josh looked up past his covers to see what Yi was doing. He saw him pick up the duffel bag containing his bassoon and head for the door. Joshua jumped up and stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Yi turned around, looking like he was about to tell him that his dog had died; not that a dog compared to anything he experienced in the past 12 hours. "I'm going to stop Four Fingers. You should stay here where it's safe. I don't want you joining them anytime soon."

Josh looked down and thought about how to answer. Normally, something like this would send him back to the comfort of his dorm and let Yi do his job. But now there was nothing normal left and Josh wanted to avenge his parents too. He didn't care what happened afterward. "I'm coming with you anyway. Those were my parents. I at least deserve to be there." Yi could see that he was not going to be swayed. He then pulled out a black handgun and handed it to Joshua.

"Welcome to the club, kid."


	4. Revenge of the Bassoon

The two made their way over to the warehouse district. Josh had never made it to this part of the city. He always stayed near campus which was a lot nicer than this place. Old warehouses stood and the strong smell of meat. Yi informed Josh that he called the CIA to come and pick up the bassoon from him since it was too dangerous to go themselves. Josh looked around and wondered where the CIA could land their plane.

"So why are we in an old warehouse when we should be inside the city where there is a helipad available?"

Yi looked over at Josh and gave him a smirk that showed that there was something else going on. He told Josh to pull out his gun. He fumbled to grab the handle and his hand shook slightly as he held it. The gun was a sleek black and there was a star engraved on the handle. "It's a Type 77. Government issue." Yi had told Joshua who was admiring the cold metal in his hands. Yi started to slowly move his way inside the warehouse and Josh followed blindly. The two hid behind a crate and Yi held up a finger to indicate that there shouldn't be any sounds between them. Yi flashed a glance around the corner and indicated with his hand for Joshua to move forward. They did this for two more crates until they reached an unmoving conveyer belt. Suddenly, Josh knew what was really going on. He could see almost twenty men standing guard to a door that read Manager's Office. Josh started to feel the sick sensations again but held it back when Yi made the first shot at one of the men. He just wanted to lie low until it was all over, but that feeling of regurgitation was replaced with a feeling of revenge. Josh stood up and saw a man with a large firearm, probably an Ak-47 based on all of the games he had played. Looking down at his small handgun he felt belittled. He looked for a hammer to cock like on the guns he had seen before. This one seemed automatic and made it much easier for Josh to pull the trigger. There were no extra seconds needed to ready the weapon and think about what he was about to do. The bullet made its way into the shoulder of one of the gang members and he dropped his weapon long enough for Yi to finish him.

Adrenalin took over as he shot four more men, this time the bullets hit their mark. The assailants fell to the ground with a thud. Then he saw a shadow behind him and found one of the goons about to strike. The Triad member and Josh took to hand to hand combat. His parents taught him self-defense for as long as he could remember. Apparently what he was doing was much more. Josh parried every one of the member's movements and then managed to strike him in the jugular like his father had taught him. Josh just looked down at the large man lying unconscious on the ground. He turned around to keep going when he saw that Yi had already taken down the rest of the men. Yi walked over to Josh and saw the man on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Yi said with a great smile on his face.

"My parents taught me self-defense when I was younger." Josh said simply.

"Damn, your mom and dad really must have wanted to protect you. Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

"My dad took me to the shooting range a few times and he taught me some tricks for hitting the target."

"You took out this guy without any weapons at all! You were fighting with a form of martial arts known as Shoalin Kung-Fu. And the way you were able to take some of these guys down was impressive. Your parents must have figured that you might have to run into their past and taught you some of their moves.

Josh began to think back to all of the "training" his parents had been giving him. They made him go at least three times a week to practice in their basement. They always said to use it if someone ever attacked him. They never showed him the stuff from the movies though; only how to block attacks and give small but powerful counterattacks. Even when his dad took him to the range they were training him. His father had said that shooting is never the answer but sometimes is necessary to protect yourself. He taught him a breathing exercise that steadied his aim. All that time he should have noticed that his parents were preparing him for something they hoped would never happen.

The two continued to make their way to the room that was once heavily guarded. Inside the room there were two men, both carrying what looked like meat cleavers. If they had been carrying guns, then Yi and Josh would have been dead when they came in. Only later did Josh learn that the Triad's favorite weapon was hand to hand combat and large butcher knives. Good for Josh because Yi took out the man on the left and Josh handled the man on the right without any problem. Then there was one: Four Fingers.

Four Fingers simply sat in his chair and looked up at the two. Almost like it didn't occur to him that he was about to die. The heavy set man leaned back and smiled at the two. Josh wanted to bash his face in. How could he just sit there like that with no remorse?

"So, you have come to take me into custody. Not even a gift basket for all of this time apart?" Josh was getting that vomiting sensation again mixed with the desire to bust a whole through the wall. No. He wanted to bust a whole through this man's skull.

"We are not taking you into custody, Four Fingers. You killed two of my best friends. There is no justice for you now." Suddenly the smile on the gang leader's face fell as he saw the seriousness in Yi's. "You're going to die today."

"Woah, woah, woah! You still have to obey the laws. You're supposed to take me into custody and I go on breathing." Four Fingers started to become frantic.

"Normally I would abide by the rules, but since the people who normally tell me what they are, now are dead, I guess I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Yi said this humorously. The old defense mechanism kicking in again. Disguising the sadness and anger he must be feeling.

Four Fingers looked over to Joshua who had been silently holding back tears of anger this whole time. "Come on, Kid. Tell me you're gunna follow the rules?" His eyes were pleading, but Josh saw through them and into the man that ordered that sniper to kill his parents.

"I don't actually work for the government. So I don't know what the rules are. Based on all accounts, I think the death penalty is a fair sentence." Josh had spoken in the same tone as Yi had before. It seemed that he was now pushing back those vomiting sensations and replaced them with sarcasm as well.

Yi looked at Josh and nodded his head, indicating that Josh could be the one to end Four Fingers life. Josh held up the gun to the man and saw the fear in his eyes. He knew that this man was responsible for all the misery that he had gone through. Even though he had killed those men on the other side of the door, he hadn't assassinated anyone. Never murdered someone. This man would be his first and he didn't know what to do. He looked over to Yi with his thoughts clearly showing on his face. Yi looked down and then back up at Josh.

"The CIA will be here any minute. Once they realized that we were not there to meet them at the plane they would have activated the tracker that your mother inserted in the duffel bag when we found you."

The two waited outside. Josh sat on the cold, cement floor looking at all of the crates. Yi simply leaned against the wall and stared at the floor. There had been a long silence. One of those quiets that is appreciated. The kind of quiet that sooths a headache or in Josh's case, a heartache. Josh looked past the crates and remembered his parents lying on the floor, but then he decided to look even past that into all of the times before that. He thought about when his dad let him skip school for his birthday to travel down to Disney Land and the two of them spent the whole day together. He thought about all of the recitals his parents came to and how proud they were of him. He was relieved that he didn't kill Four Fingers. Joshua didn't know what would consume his mind after doing that. When his parents died, they were his only thought. He didn't want Four Fingers dead body to be another. He shuddered and went back to thinking of fond memories.

About 5 minutes after that, the CIA came bursting through the door with their guns pointed at the two. The agents realized who Yi was and relaxed. Yi told the men that their felon was inside the office, and the agents came inside to take him away. One of the agents stopped in front of Joshua and offered to pull him up. He introduced himself as Agent Nash and then offered Josh a card. The agent explained that if Josh ever wanted to stop something like this from happening to another family, he should give him a call. He turned the card over in his hand. It was a neatly printed business card that read: Central Intelligence Agency. Agent Chris Nash. On the back the agent had written what appeared to be a private number. Josh stuffed it into his pocket without really thinking about it. They took Four Fingers away and to a black SUV and Josh and Yi got into another that took Josh back to the Music Institute.

As Josh got out in front of his dorm he turned to Yi. "What now?" Yi gave Josh a smile and shook his head like Josh should already know. "Whatever you want Kid. But I think both of us know what you're going to do." Then he closed the door and the car drove away.

Josh felt something he had never really felt before. He felt like he was finally ready for the future.


	5. Epilogue: Future of the Bassoon

A few years have passed and now Josh is making his way to his destination. Today he is carrying more than he normally does. This day is important and everything needs to be in order. He makes his way into a dark room and opens up the case he was holding. He looks at what lies before him and the beauty of it all. He pulls out each piece and puts it together meticulously, making sure they all fit together perfectly. He feels the weight of it in his hands and admires how when the time comes, it will feel like an extension of his body. This was his favorite part about his work, the period when no one else knows what is about to happen, he is the only one with the answers. Everything is in place and he is ready to start. He brings his chosen instrument into position and takes a deep breath before beginning. Then he presses down and exhales.

Sweet music leaves his bassoon and fills the auditorium, he plays his piece and with every press of a key, hears the deep bassoon sound, with that slight chirp that his double reed provides. At the end he stands up and looks out over the crowd. In the front row he sees his fellow agents giving him a standing ovation.

It's amazing to think how far passion can take you.


End file.
